iNew Years
by pickaxe881978
Summary: Sam and Freddie are expecting, and they use the New Years holiday to tell their friends and family.


A/N: I know this is a few days late, but sometimes life gets in the way and makes things take longer than you think. I haven't decided if this will be the last story I write using holidays like this. With that being said, I hope that you enjoy this story, and please feel free to leave a review as all constructive criticism is welcome.

Freddie and Sam walk through the front door, each carrying several plastic bags full of chips, pretzels, and other snack foods. Sam was the first one into the kitchen followed quickly by Freddie, "just put the bags on the counter, and I'll put everything up," Freddie said, setting his bags down. Sam was never one to turn down an offer to let someone else do her work, she wasn't lazy by any means, but Sam did enjoy being able to sit on the couch and do nothing. "Are you doing this just because I'm carrying your baby," Sam asked, already well aware of Freddie's answer and wearing a smile to match. Freddie returned his own smile, "that may have something to do with it," he said before pulling Sam closer for a kiss. Breaking their kiss, Freddie turns to begin putting away the recently acquired groceries, "go relax, I'll be in as soon as I'm done putting this stuff away."

It had only taken Freddie about five minutes to put everything away, but when he came into the living room, he was surprised to see that Sam was fast asleep. Freddie stood there and watched Sam sleep, she had always been beautiful, but now that Sam was pregnant, she looked absolutely breathtaking, especially while sleeping. Checking the time, Freddie decided there was no reason to wake Sam right now, so he placed the afghan from the back of the sectional and covered Sam before sitting down at the other end. It was a little more than an hour later when Freddie awoke to find that Sam was still asleep, and even though he didn't want to wake Sam, Freddie knew that she would be getting hungry here soon. Freddie got up as stealthily as possible and headed into the kitchen to start lunch.

Freddie opened the refrigerator and rummaged through it to see what he could use for lunch. There was, of course, several packs of bacon along with baby spinach, grape tomatoes, and several other items needed to make Freddie's famous BLT pasta. Pulling the needed ingredients out, Freddie grabbed the biggest pan they had and began cooking. Lunch was almost finished when he heard Sam stirring in the living room, "Freddie," she called groggily, "In the kitchen," Freddie called back. Sam vacated the sofa, folded the afghan, and placed it back on the couch before making her way into the kitchen. Stepping through the kitchen door, Sam was immediately overtaken by the aroma of one of her absolute favorite dishes, "wow nub, that smells amazing," she said, stopping next to her husband.

Turning to face Sam, Freddie leaned down and kissed her, "did you have a good nap?" Yawning, Sam nodded, "how long was I out," she asked, somewhat concerned that she might have trouble sleeping tonight if she slept too long. "A little more than an hour," Freddie responded before taste testing the almost finished meal. Satisfied with the end product, Freddie removed the pan from the heat and turned off the burner, "I hope you're hungry," he said grabbing two plates from the cabinet and dishing out the pasta. Sam grabbed her plate and headed to the table, "I am starving," she said, sitting down and immediately digging into her food.

Freddie joined Sam at the table, "did you remember to invite Carly for New Year's Eve," Freddie asked knowing that Sam was chomping at the bit to tell Carly about the pregnancy, even if he didn't understand why Sam hadn't told her yet. Sam nodded, "yep, she's looking forward to it, as am I," she said before shoveling another fork full of pasta into her mouth. Sam got up and dished another helping of the pasta from the pan and returned to the table, "I'm just glad that Carly was able to get some extra time off." Freddie nodded in agreement, "yeah, it has been nice being able to catch up, but I think it's going to be worse for her when she leaves." Sam's brow furrowed in confusion, "what do you mean," she asked. "Well, the baby is due the end of July, beginning of August, which is her busiest time," Freddie said, getting up from the table, "I don't think Carly will be able to be here when the baby is born," he continued, putting his plate in the sink.

Sam hadn't thought about that, but there wasn't anything to be done about it, she was already pregnant and if that meant Carly couldn't be there, then so be it. "Well, that does suck, but since your little soldiers were so good at their job, it can't be helped," she said with a playful grin. Freddie returned a similar smile, "Yeah, well, when I have a job to do, I do not half-ass it," he said with a chuckle. "Do you want any more of this before I put it away," Freddie asked, grabbing a storage container and lid. Sam thought for a moment, "not right now, but I make no promises that you'll get any more of it," she said, getting to put her dishes in the sink as well. Stretching as she walked, Sam released a sigh, "I guess we need to start getting ready for tonight," she said, walking out to the living room.

Sam and Freddie spent the next couple of hours decorating the house and making food. The couple finished up with about an hour and a half to spare before everyone would begin to arrive. "Why don't you head up and get ready," Freddie said taking note of the time, "once you're done, I'll come up," he said, giving her a quick kiss. Sam grabbed Freddie's hand, "why don't you come up with me, and we can get ready together," Sam asked with a lilt in her voice. Freddie looked at Sam, why was it so damned easy for her to drive him crazy, "because," he began, "if I come up there with you, then neither of us will be ready in time because we will be too busy doing other things. But I promise that once everyone is gone for the night, we will have plenty of time for us," he said in the tone that drove Sam crazy, after all, wasn't turn about fair play?

Sam begrudgingly headed upstairs to get ready, and about twenty minutes later came back downstairs, "your turn," Sam said as she stepped off the final step, "and don't take forever. I'm betting crazy will be the first one to arrive, and I want you down here when she does." Freddie rolled his eyes at Sam's comment, "while I don't disagree with your previous statement, you have to admit that mom has gotten better," he said. Sam knew Freddie was right, Marissa had gotten better, and she hoped that once she knew about the baby that she wouldn't revert. "That may be true, but you never know what might happen with her," she said, tapping her pointer finger against her head, "anyway, you'd better go get ready," she said, practically pushing him up the stairs.

By the time Freddie came back downstairs, Sam had already put out most of the snack foods they had purchased earlier in the day, and as Sam is known to do, she was already eating. If it weren't for the fact that Sam was now eating for two, Freddie would have said something to her about eating before the guests had arrived; instead, he smiled and joined Sam on the couch. Once he was seated, Freddie's hand found its way to Sam's belly, "you know, if we are going to keep the surprise as planned, you aren't going to be able to do that once people start arriving," she said pointing to his hand. "I know," he said as he started to move his hand, only to have Sam grab it and place back where it had been, "I didn't say you had to move it right now," she said.

True to form, Marissa arrived twenty minutes early, "Hello Freddie," she said, embracing her son, "Hi mom," Freddie replied, returning the hug. Marissa turned to Sam, "hello Samantha," she said, stepping over to Sam and wrapping her in a hug as well. "Hey Marissa," Sam responded, with a look on her face that said it all, Sam was surprised, to say the least. Was it possible Marrisa had somehow figured out that Sam was pregnant? No, there was no way, they only spoke about the pregnancy in person to try and keep anyone from possibly seeing something they shouldn't. Maybe Marissa was finally coming around and beginning to see Sam as the person she is now, and not the person she used to be.

Marissa sat down, "I hope it's fine that I got here early, but one of the nurses called off sick, and I'm going in at 12:30 to help out." "It's perfectly fine," Sam responded, "it's just good to have you here tonight," she said as the two women exchanged smiles and sat down. Sam, Freddie, and Marissa spent the next half hour making small talk as they waited for Sasha, Spencer, Carly, Gibby, and a few other close friends to arrive. Soon enough, Sasha, Spencer, and Carly were the first to arrive and were followed shortly after that by Gibby, Melanie, Jake, Brad, and a few of both Sam and Freddie's co-workers.

Everyone at the party was having a great time when Sam stood up and whistled loudly, which caused everyone to quiet down and look at her, "alright everyone, it's ten minutes to midnight," she said, leaning down and picking up the TV remote. Pressing the power button, Sam changed the channel so they could watch the ball drop. Placing the remote back on the table, Sam returned to sit next to Freddie, where she leaned in and whispered, "are you nervous too," she asked suddenly, acutely aware of just how nervous she was. Freddie nodded but said nothing as he didn't want to jeopardize their little surprise.

The closer it got to midnight, the more and more nervous both Sam and Freddie were becoming; they were so worried, in fact, that it was beginning to show. There was now less than two minutes to midnight, and everyone was getting ready for the final countdown. Everyone stood up in preparation, Sasha with Spencer, Carly with Jake, and Melanie and Gibby with their respective dates. As the time remaining crept closer to zero, all of the guests in the Benson household were waiting excitedly for the ten-second mark when they all began to countdown. "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, zero," they all said in unison before cheering loudly, hugging each other, and all couples kissing their respective mates. Once all the excitement had abated slightly, Sam and Freddie stood up and moved in front of the now muted television, "before everyone leaves for the night, Sam and I have something we would like to say," Freddie said, stepping aside to allow everyone to focus on Sam.

Sam stepped forward but stayed close enough to Freddie to hold hands. Sam looked around at the friends and family that were gathered together before starting, "all of you gathered here tonight are either dear friends," she said looking at Brad and Gibby with their respective dates, "family," she said looking at Melanie, Marissa, "and almost family," Sam said looking at Spencer, Sasha, Carly, and Jake. Sam took a deep breath, "Freddie, and I recently got two pieces of good news. The first is, Freddie was newly promoted," she paused so people could offer Freddie their congratulations. Once everyone had finished, Sam continued, "the second and we feel the biggest and best news is," she paused for a few seconds just for effect, "we're having a baby," she said as the smile she'd been doing her level best to stifle finally overcame her.

Carly was on her feet and standing in front of Sam so fast that it seemed almost cartoonish, "oh my gosh Sam, I can't believe you're pregnant," Carly squealed, hugging her best friend. Sam smiled at Carly, "believe it, Cupcake, momma wouldn't lie about something like this." Sam glanced sideways toward Freddie, who was talking to his mom, and from what Sam could tell, Marissa appeared to be happy. Sam interrupted Carly in mid-question, "Carly, I promise to answer all your questions, but would you excuse me for a few minutes," she asked, still casting a sideways glance toward Freddie and Marissa. Carly saw where Sam had been looking, "of course," she said, knowing what Sam needed to do, "we'll finish up later," Carly said as she walked away to talk to Spencer and Sasha.

As Sam drew closer to Freddie and Marissa, she tried to see if she could hear what was being said, but with all the other talking going on, she couldn't hear anything. When Sam was only a couple of steps away, Marissa turned to face her daughter-in-law, her face unreadable to Sam was disconcerting to Sam. Sam's fears were quickly dispelled when an ear to ear grin graced Marissa's face, and Sam found herself being embraced by the one person who had for the longest time hated her. "Sam, congratulations, my dear. I'm so happy for you and Freddie." "Thank you," Sam responded, feeling tears beginning to sting her eyes. "You are very welcome, Sam," Marissa paused for just a moment, "Look, Sam, I know that you and I have not seen eye to eye in the past, but I have come to realize that I was wrong about you. You are the best thing that has happened to my Freddie, and I couldn't be happier that you two are starting a family."

Sam couldn't believe her ears, nor could she stop the tears from falling, "thank you, Marissa, that means so much to me, to us." Marissa nodded, "now, unfortunately, I have to head into work, but sometime in the next couple of days, I want to have you two over for dinner. I have so many questions, but I don't have the time, nor do I want to take you away from everyone else here." Freddie looked at Sam, who nodded her approval, "just let us know when you're available, mom, and we'll be there." Marissa nodded, grabbed her coat from the hall closet, and left Sam and Freddie to answer questions and enjoy the remainder of the evening with their friends.


End file.
